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I have never seen it written this way but have seen it written in this form "S 38 degrees 15 minutes E" which I thougt meant to head 38 deg 15 min east of due south or on a heading of 141 deg 45 min.

Check my math brdad.

Yes, that is correct according to my calculations.

As far as "S 38 degrees 15 minutes E", that looks correct, too - if fact I thought I posted that, but guess I edited it out. It's the same as S38°15'E anyway, using words instead of symbols. But "S 38 degrees E 15 minutes" I don't think is in correct format. Glad I'm not the only one.

I converted to decimal (141.75°) mainly because FizzyCalc requires it.

Thanks for the responses everybody. This is not a cache, but a practice exersize a friend set up for me, so maybe he's not up on this as much as i think he is, lol. The calculations that sabby and bdad are coming up with is what I think I need to find whatever it is I'm looking for. I think my friend is trying to start me off with some practice on following a heading accurately. Maybe what I asked in the first post was not asked correctly by me. I was assuming that azmuth, bearing, and heading are all the same names for following an accurate straight line to a specific point. I was given a starting point (a red ribbon on a tree) and was supposed to follow the S38 degrees E 15 minutes heading and go 1550 feet to whatever is there to find. I appreciate all the comments and help very much.

Quadrant bearings do not use 0-360° as most of us are accustomed to. Instead, they specify up to 90° E or W of N or South. So, Northeast (45°) would be N45°E, and Southwest would be S45°W. N90°E and S90°E would both be East.

S 38 degrees E 15 minutes, if it were written the way I think would be correct (Anyone that knows different speak up!) would be S38°15'E. since there are 15 minutes in a degree, we could also say S38.25°E. If we take 180° (Which is south on a typical compass) and subtract 38.25, we get the azimuth we need for our compass bearing, or 141.75°.

Hopefully that helps if it is a quadrant bearing. If you need a visual, I can draw something up.

This could make a good article if I had time to do so....

I think I'm missing something here. If there are 15 minutes in a degree wouldn't that make the 15 minutes E another degree, and make the S38 actually S39?

I think I'm missing something here. If there are 15 minutes in a degree wouldn't that make the 15 minutes E another degree, and make the S38 actually S39?

Aha, you caught me on this one. there are 60 minutes in a degree, which makes 15 minutes 1/4 of that, or .25°. Sorry for that confusion.

I guess I need to write 100 times on the board

There are 60 seconds in a minute; There are 60 minutes in a degree; There are 360 degrees in a full circle.
There are 60 seconds in a minute; There are 60 minutes in a degree; There are 360 degrees in a full circle.
There are 60 seconds in a minute; There are 60 minutes in a degree; There are 360 degrees in a full circle.
There are 60 seconds in a minute; There are 60 minutes in a degree; There are 360 degrees in a full circle.................

Aha, you caught me on this one. there are 60 minutes in a degree, which makes 15 minutes 1/4 of that, or .25°. Sorry for that confusion.

I guess I need to write 100 times on the board

There are 60 seconds in a minute; There are 60 minutes in a degree; There are 360 degrees in a full circle.
There are 60 seconds in a minute; There are 60 minutes in a degree; There are 360 degrees in a full circle.
There are 60 seconds in a minute; There are 60 minutes in a degree; There are 360 degrees in a full circle.
There are 60 seconds in a minute; There are 60 minutes in a degree; There are 360 degrees in a full circle.................

Wasn't trying to catch you brdad I was just confused, lol. Thanks so much for the info.